


Learned Lessons

by ParvumAutomaton



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 20:33:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15494112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParvumAutomaton/pseuds/ParvumAutomaton
Summary: When the Reach controlled Blue Beetle and Green Beetle, Green Beetle acted as a mentor to Blue Beetle.Now that Jaime and B'arzz are free, and the Reach have been chased off planet, that relationship is on much shakier ground.





	Learned Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Weirdowhotalkstoofast (babblingweirdnonsense on tumblr) for letting me brainstorm ideas and providing support during the writing process.

“I am here.”

Green Beetle looked over Blue Beetle standing at attention in the vast unmarked desert that Green had called him to.

“You are late.”

“The family had to be informed of my departure.”

“If they are a hindrance, we can eliminate them.”

“Negative,” Blue Beetle responded. “An investigation into that would be more of a hindrance. Besides their lives provide leverage when the host is uncooperative.”

“So the host has still not acknowledged his defeat.”

“He has not. However neither can he breach Reach control.”

But there was still a small risk that he could do exactly that, eventually. It was why the Scientist had originally preferred a full reboot over Green Beetle’s manipulations. Now she considered the risk manageable, after the Ambassador had explained that since Blue Beetle escaped and the revealed of their plan, his death would raise unwanted suspicion.  

“Do not worry little brother. The Ambassador and the Scientist will solve the host problem by the time elimination of the family becomes necessary.”

Blue Beetle gave a single nod.

“For now I need to access your combat skills, and memory of Reach protocol.”

Blue Beetle nodded again and crouched into a defensive position. Green Beetle launched his attack.

Blue parried his first head on attack well, and his second. 

But before his third attack, Green sent the host a telepathic lie, _‘you are strong, stronger than me, you still have the power to fight the Reach’_. Soft as if it was from a suppressed B’arzz. Green waited for the second Blue’s eyes flitted to the side and then caught Blue Beetle by the neck and slammed him into the ground.

Blue shook his head and slowly pushed himself to his feet.

“You were distracted by your host.”

Blue bowed his head.

“You cannot be distracted by your host. As the Reach we must utilize what the humans call ‘divide and conquer’, not fall for it. Just as the Ambassador plays the world’s leaders against the world’s heroes, increasing mistrust by offering technology when the heroes cannot solve an issue and playing by the rules desired by the masses when they attempt to reveal us, so too must you set your enemies against each other so that they can not longer see your attack coming.”

“I understand.”

“Good,” Green Beetle said and relaxed his stance. “Then perhaps we should end this session for today. Your host has injuries that need to be healed.”

Blue Beetle touched his throat, and \nodded. He turned to fly, prompting Green to transform his arm into a scythe and stabbed through the armor into his shoulder.

Blue stumbled, turning to face Green again.

“You cannot be distracted by news that you wish to hear. As the Reach we must hide our betrayal with lies that give the target what they want, not fall for the lies of others. Just as I was able to offer your host the mentorship he desired to hide the danger that I posed, so too must you trick your enemies by giving them what they desire to disguise your betrayal.”

“I understand”

Blue rolled his shoulder, and armor reformed over the wound, accelerated healing already beginning.

“Good,” Green Beetle said. “Again.”

Blue Beetle launched himself at Green. He parried each of Green’s attacks, and ignited the surrounding desert shrubs. His eyes never flitted to the side, and areas that were free of flame only served to lead Green Beetle further into a trap.

As Blue sped in to catch Green in the trap that he had set, Green waved his hand activating a feedback loop he had placed within the scarab that sent Blue crashing to the ground. When he hit, he stayed down the feedback loop not allowing him to move.

Green extinguished the flames and then moved to stand over Blue.

“You cannot allow others to use a ‘backdoor’ to disable your control. As the Reach we must slip our own backdoors into systems that we can later exploit, not be exploited. Just as the Reach placed a backdoor into you, into every scarab to allow for a specialized mode in cases when a full reboot is impossible, and just as I placed additional safeguards when I utilized that backdoor, so too must you place backdoors into enemy systems.”

Green Beetle released his control of Blue. 

“Training is done for the night. When you are able, return to the family. I will summon you when you are needed again.”

Blue Beetle did not respond, and Green Beetle left as he slowly took back control of his systems.

* * *

B’arzz O’oomm opened the door to his room on the watchtower with a simple telekinetic command when felt a presence lingering outside of it. He had thought that any presence would be an agreeable distraction from the hollow that the death of Khaji Tal left. He has spent decades alongside the scarab, Khaji Tal, both of them enduring the subjugation under the Reach together. A consistent companion in the truest sense of the word.  


He had thought any distraction would be welcomed, however when he saw Jaime Reyes and the scarab Khaji Da standing outside he knew that he was wrong. He wished that he had identified the presence, and never opened the door.

“Hey, how are you?”

B’arzz blinked once before speaking in a flat tone.“You should not be here.”

Jaime looked down. “I’m sorry.”

Of all the things that the Jaime and Khaji Da were as the Blue Beetle, telepathic was not one. 

“You have nothing to feel bad about.”

Jaime looked back up at B’arzz, his voice soft. “Khaji Tal just died. He, and you, were like a mentor to me.”

“Do not pretend to mourn Khaji Tal for my sake.”

Jaime flinched. And B’arzz continued speaking. 

“I was there for what he, what we, put you through. Go, celebrate the safety of your planet, the defeat of the Reach, and leave me.”

Before Jaime had a chance to respond B’arzz closed the door. He felt Jaime’s presence as he lingered near the door. He felt Jaime’s presence as he left.

A small, selfish, part of B’arzz wished that he could be angry at Jaime for the intrusion. Or angry at Jaime for leaving. But he could not. 

He could not forget what he had done to Jaime, the agony that he had caused the boy. Just seeing him again brought back painful memories for the time that they had spent on mode.

With his eyes closed he could see Jaime’s face, black and blue without the armor. Eye swollen shut and jaw cracked forcing it closed until healing could be completed. He remembered Black Beetle angrily defending his right to train him as he saw fit to the Ambassador who hissed back that this would cause the cancellation of a press even far more important than learning how to punch. Neither of them looked at the boy. Neither of them checked his injuries or offered aid. 

But then again, Green Beetle didn’t either. He simply escorted him to his home and reminded him that if the family Jaime loved so much even questioned the injuries that they should be eliminated.  

B’arzz opened his eyes. But it wasn’t any better. He could hear Jaime’s voice as he betrayed the secrets of his friends on the team, even without direct prompting from the Ambassador. 

He remembered it as if the conversation had just happened. The Ambassador expressed concern about the trustworthiness of the Light, as criminals and traitors couldn’t be trusted to uphold bargains.

He could hear Jaime’s voice, flat as always when Khaji Da was forced to speak using it, tell the ambassador that while the Light might be untrustworthy, any betrayal was inconsequential. That the Impulse had found a way to time travel, and attempted to prevent the inevitable success of the Reach invasion. 

The Ambassador had asked what his plan was, and Blue Beetle smiled in response. Prevent Jaime from joining the Reach.

And as a result of that conversation the Ambassador increased the priority of plans against Jaime’s allies, and decreased the priority of plans against his enemies. And as added assurance the Ambassador increased the number of studies that Blue Beetle had to endure with the Scientist.

B’arzz repressed a shudder. 

The Scientist was ruthlessly efficient and in her studies, and she gave no consideration to the pain inflicted on her test subjects. 

Jaime’s agony as the Scientist forced open Khaji Da’s systems so that she could check every combat parameter, from formation of deadly weapons vital for allowing an infiltration to make quick work of their enemy, to the analyse and adapt protocols vital for the identification and exploitation of enemy weaknesses. 

After training with Black Beetle, B’arzz may have had to escort Jaime home, but after his time with the Scientist, B’arzz had to carry him and then wait in the desert until Khaji Da had repaired their systems enough so that he could walk through the front door of his home.

B’arzz shook his head. Jaime was free now. The Reach would no longer cause him pain. Khaji Tal would no longer cause him pain.

B’arzz would no longer cause him pain.

Selfishly he reached out to Jaime. Not to talk but to assure himself that the boy was fine, and to perhaps bury his own sorrow under Jaime’s joy of being free.

But B’arzz did not find joy when he found Jaime. He found pain. He didn’t dare barge in on Jaime’s mind, as humans found that rude and uncomfortable. And with what Jaime had gone through at the hands of the Reach, B’arzz was sure he would react worse, not better, to the intrusion. 

So B’arzz density shifted and flew across the Watchtower until he was in Jaime’s room. Looking down at the boy who was lying on top of his bed. His face buried in a pillow.

“You are supposed to be celebrating.”

Jaime jumped and twisted into a sitting position to face B’arzz.

“And you are supposed to knock.” He said softly, wiping tears from his eyes with the palm of his hand. 

B’arzz descended, taking a place sitting on the bed next to Jaime. He took one of Jaime’s hands in his own but looked towards the wall as he spoke.

“I apologize. I have not been able to be the mentor that you wanted me to be.”

“That’s not true you’re a good mentor.”

B’arzz shook his head. A human gesture that he hoped would get through to Jaime. “All I ever taught you was about the Reach.”

“And it worked didn’t it?” Jaime asked pulling on B’arzz’s shoulder. “Just not in the way that the Reach expected.”

B’arzz allowed himself to be pulled so that he was no longer facing the wall. When he met Jaime’s eyes, Jaime began talking again. Listing out each point on his fingers.

“Divide and conquer. We got Black Beetle and Ambassador to fight by being a little more careless in training sessions before important events. Saying what the target want to hear to hide a betrayal. After the Ambassador found out that he wins, that the Light was inconsequential stopped worrying about them. And they took the Warworld from him. Kaldur recorded and revealed his plan to the world. And backdoors. Each time Khaji Da had to repair the systems that the Scientist studied they put in a backdoor. And when it came down to the wire they could subdue the team without lethality, they could get us to use a physical attack on a kinetic shield, and they could delay our weapons just enough for the ritual to go off.

“Without you. Without Khaji Tal, the Reach would have never been stopped.”

B’arzz didn’t speak right away. He closed his eyes and let the pride nudge out guilt. It didn’t undo the pain of loss, but it took a little bit of the edge. And sitting with Jaime took the edge off the gnawing loneliness.

“Nor would they have been stopped without you, Jaime Reyes, Khaji Da.” He said reaching out to Jaime’s mind and feeling the boy’s sadness and his desire to comfort. B’arzz allowed his own sadness to show as well as his desire for Jaime’s happiness.

“Tonight we will mourn Khaji Tal,” B’arzz said softly. “Tomorrow we will celebrate, not just for ourselves but also for the ones who are no longer around to celebrate with us.”

 


End file.
